New tourist tax

in Madrid, the Ex ­ Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism said she liked the idea of introducing a tourist tax, which visitors to the city would have to pay per night, but added, “The tourist tax does not have to be merely a tax, it has to be a tax that reverts to the tourism industry.”

On hearing her comments the Madrid Hotel Business Association (MHBA) made clear its opposition to the idea without any hesitation, claiming that it would have a detrimental effect on the hotel sector and visitors.

AS announced by the train operator on Sunday, April 23, Renfe will have a total of one million seats available for travellers during the May bank holiday in Spain.

It has planned this mammoth total of seats to be available for travel on its AVE, Larga and Media Distancia trains between Friday, April 28 and Tuesday, May 2. For more information go to www.renfe.com

Renfe will offer additional seats to its normal schedules on its AVE, Avlo, Alvia, Euromed and Intercity services, with Andalucia, the Levantine area and Catalonia being the most popular destinations.

The company said that this offer during the holiday period will save the combustion of 9.5 million litres of fuel, avoiding the emission of 28.8 million CO2 or 135.3 tons of NOx into the atmosphere.